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Answers from John Shepherd:

Q. I’m 19, 5'10", 163 pounds and have 6% body fat. I have been doing everything to increase my vertical jump for basketball. I want to be able to dunk. I’m very fit and strong but can only grab the rim. My max squat is 390lbs and I can easily leg press 700lbs. I’ve done plyometrics for 1.5 years. Please advise me what I’m doing wrong? Martin

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Answer:

Firstly, you’ve done really well; you’re not doing much wrong. You’re building your power levels up by combining weights with plyometrics and targeting your fast twitch (explosive power) muscle fibres. This makes it hard for me to find an answer! However, I’ve a few ideas. Firstly, are you doing relevant dunk specific plyos? Such as double footed vertical jumps with or without resistance (if you use resistance, just use light dumbbells, held at arm’s length by your sides). You must emphasise plyo’s that take you upward, and forwards and practice from two footed and single leg take-offs. You may also need to develop greater concentric (as occurs when a muscle shortens when it contracts) muscle power. This type of power is important for moving your body from a relatively static position. Although weight training will provide a great base of this type of strength (and it appears from what you have written that you have a great base) it can be developed with jumping movements. For a double-footed jump this is achieved by bending your knees pausing and then jumping upward to touch the rim. If completing a series of jumps don’t rebound immediately into the next – rather land pause and repeat. This will develop your ability to ‘work the ground’.

Have you measured your sergeant jump performance? I expect this will have improved over your years of training. Speak to your coach and have this compared to other players. I expect you are just as good as your team mates in terms of vertical jump ability, but perhaps lose out a bit due to your smaller stature. Finally, it could all be about technique. Again, consult with your coach and get him or her to analyse in detail your dunking technique. That extra inch or so of vertical jump required to slam, could be a technical rather than a power issue.